Judicial Ethics Opinions

A full-time judge may accept free admission to a continuing legal education seminar offered by a private legal training organization that is owned and/or operated by an attorney who has not appeared, and is not likely to appear, in the judge's court, subject to a reporting requirement if the value of the gift exceeds $150. In the event that the attorney later appears in the judge's court, the judge's obligation is to disclose the gift for a reasonable period of time following the seminar, and the length of such period of time is left entirely to the judge's discretion after consideration of all relevant factors.

A judge need not disclose that his/her minor children work part-time as babysitters for the children of an attorney who appears in the judge's court and need not disqualify him/herself when the attorney appears.

A judge may participate in a culturally mandated celebration and burial ceremony in honor of the judge's deceased parent, which will take place in another country. During one portion of the ceremony, family, friends and other well-wishers shower the judge and his/her siblings with local currency.

A judge may preside over a case where a party currently appearing before him/her is also an attorney who regularly appears before the judge, provided the judge concludes he/she can be fair and impartial. The judge does not thereby incur any obligation to disclose or disqualify him/herself in other matters in which the attorney or his/her law firm appears.

If a Surrogate determines that an interested party is legally in default, remittal of disqualification may be achieved without informing the defaulting party of the basis of the disqualification, and without obtaining the consent of the defaulting party.

A judge may write an unsolicited letter to a federal executive branch employee expressing appreciation for the employee's professionalism, based on the judge's personal knowledge, and may use his/her judicial stationery marked "personal and unofficial."

A full-time judge who has independently written, published, marketed, and sold a bench book online is not prohibited from also selling the book directly to the Unified Court System's Office of Court Administration. Rules: 22 NYCRR 100.4(H)(1)(C); Opinion 10-84.

Whether a judge may continue to preside over a criminal case, given that the defendant, who identifies him/herself as a member of the Sovereign Citizens group, has commenced a lawsuit against the judge and other public officials and agencies.